30-31 May Venue TBC. Candidates Manifesto CD8

Transcription

1 30-31 May Venue TBC Candidates Manifesto CD8

2 Candidates for the position of Black Students Officer Purpose of this document Under NUS election rules, the list of candidates for full time positions are circulated prior to the conference at which they are elected. Also included with this list are the names of those who nominated each candidate and, if supplied, a manifesto for them. For the positions of NUS Black Students Officer each candidate needed 10 nominations from 10 different constituent members to be submitted by 12pm on Wednesday 15 April Full details of the election rules and schedules can be found online: As one of the purposes for which the list of candidates is published is to enable objections to eligibility to be submitted, it will be clear that the candidates listed may not be properly qualified or validly nominated. It should be borne in mind that this document has to be prepared before the Chief Returning Officer can decide questions relating to qualifications of candidates and the validity of the nominations. The appearance of a candidate s name in this document does not therefore mean that they are duly qualified or validly nominated. The Chief Returning Officer will report on any matters arising in this connection in due course. Objections to the eligibility of full time candidates Any member of NUS may object to the eligibility of candidates or their nominators. For the full time position they may do this by contacting the chief returning officer in writing via executiveoffice@nus.org.uk by 12pm on March Other positions Voting delegates at Sections Conference can nominate you for election to all other positions. To nominate you they must sign your nomination form which will be available at the Conference. More information about other positions available can be found in CD3 Election Rules and Schedules.

3 Candidates for the position of Black Students Officer Malia Bouattia Re-Open Nominations (RON) Candidate: Malia Bouattia Nominator Candice Armah Cindy Asokan Haaris Ahmed Nadine Almanafsi Nuzhat Fatima Piers Telemacque Samayya Afzal Sarah Nwafor Shakira Martin Susuana Antubam Constituent Member University of Brighton Students Union The University of Warwick Students Union City of Glasgow College Students Union Kings College London Students Union Loughborough University Students Union NUS National Executive Council University of Bradford Students Union University of Birmingham Students Union Lewisham and Southwark College Students Union NUS Women s Committee

4 Supporting Statements Malia Bouattia Re-elect Malia for Black Students' Officer! My name's Malia Bouattia and i'm re-running to be your Black Students' Officer for Over the last 4 years I have been proud to be part of a Black Students' Campaign that fights uncompromisingly for Black liberation. In this past year as Black Students' Officer I have lead our Campaign in taking that fight further than ever before - within NUS, in our students' unions and on our campuses and always within the heart of our communities. If re-elected I promise to continue to build an active Black Students' Campaign and always keep Black liberation at the forefront.

5 Vote MALIA BOUATTIA #1 for NUS Black Students Officer This year I have been proud to lead a Black Students Campaign that has been committed to fighting uncompromisingly for Black liberation, and which has taken that fight further than ever before within NUS, in our students' unions, on our campuses and always within the heart of our communities. We need a Black Students Campaign to channel the energy of a new generation of Black students engaging with what have now become global conversations/issues of police brutality, to racism rising across all levels of society, to the fight for free and decolonised and education. Black Representation Black people are best equipped to tackle institutional racism when we are able to unite, set the agenda and collectively utilise our resources for the betterment of our people: when we organise, organise, organise. Record levels of Black representation throughout SUs and NUS means that we are in a stronger position to put Black back on the agenda, within our institutions and beyond. Campaigned for and supported Black students to get elected in their Unions, from Sheffield to London to Edinburgh Established the Black Sabbatical Officers Network, and held our inaugural meeting Hosted Black Students Campaign Regional Network meetings, and supported the Nations Black Students Campaigns which held their largest conferences yet Launched the Black History: More than just a month campaign, spoken at Black History Month events across the UK and hosted a national Black History Month event in London Hosted BSC s largest Winter Conference Hosted the first Black International Students Conference Supported the launches of Black students associations from Sheffield Hallam to LSE If elected I will: Continue to develop Black Sabbs network and the regional networks to launch nationwide campaigns Develop a comprehensive toolkit for Black students looking to run in elections Continue to support the creation of Black Students Associations on every campus Campaign to embed liberation in every level of NUS Equality in Education For too long, Black students have been subjected to the Eurocentric, white-washed psychological violence of the classroom, and for Black people Equality in education means a liberated AND accessible education. Within the academy we are confronted with curricula that demean Black people s history and erase our rich contributions, in education system geared towards entrenching inequality, and institutions that view us as expendable. But this past year we have seen a shift, with Black people changing the discourse and challenging the narrative that views Black knowledge as inferior. Published reports on narrowing the attainment gap and dismantling institutional racism Delivered workshops on decolonising education Worked with ECU on developing their Race Equality Charter mark for institutions Co-launched the Race Matters report into the experiences of Black SU staff Trained university staff in race equality Worked with UCU Black members and TUC Black Workers to support the mutual struggles of Black workers Supported the Why is my curriculum white? campaign at UCL and elsewhere Re-elect me and I will: Support Why is my curriculum white? campaigns and initiatives Publish a toolkit and visual resources for Black students, staff and officers to lead campaigns to narrow the attainment gap Provide regional training on liberating the curriculum across FE and HE Build stronger links with Black academic and Black sections in trade unions Fight for Free Education and against all cuts to education, including cuts to FE, barring Black people from accessing education

6 Intersectionality Intersectionality must continue to be at the heart of everything we do. As Audre Lorde said There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. If re-elected I will: Support the LGBT, Disabled and Women reps on committee to develop and lead on campaigns Continue organising the annual Black Women s Conference Develop Intersectionality workshops Continue to work with Black Reps on NUS Liberation committees to ensure BSC addresses multiple oppressions Work closely with UK Black Pride and QTIPOC International Peace and Justice Over the last year the Black Students Campaign has taken unprecedented strides towards linking with Black struggles worldwide. Taking lead from BSC, NUS finally adopted Boycott Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. BSC also cohosted a tour with #BlackLivesMatter activists from the frontlines of Ferguson, campaigning against police brutality, and brought them together with family justice campaigns, students and communities all over the UK. Led NUS to finally adopt BDS in support of Palestine, and co-produced the NUS4BDS handbook Supported campaigns on campuses for BDS, including the first Academic Boycott vote at a European university Mobilised and spoke at Palestine solidarity demonstrations of over 100,000 people Co-hosted the national #BlackLivesMatter tour Supported solidarity campaigns led by the Kurdish diaspora Represented BSC overseas working with students in France, Germany and Palestine Re-elect me and I will Continue to support BDS campaigns on campuses, from running workshops to distributing resources Support the Pan-African Students Union Support Kurdish solidarity groups by distributing resources across campuses Link with diaspora campaigns against ecocolonialism Continue campaigning against all forms of imperialist interventions Anti-racism and Anti-Fascism What has united Black communities in the UK more than anything else is our history of resistance against all forms of oppression. This year I have been proud to lead a Black Students Campaign that continues in that tradition of active antiracism and self-organisation. But with the government s Counter Terrorism and Security Act representing the biggest threat to our civil liberties in a generation, and a General Election campaign that has been dominated by toxic anti-migrant rhetoric, now more than ever we need a united Campaign that actively works with trade unions, organisations and community groups to ensure that this radically rooted out! Campaigned against the Counter Terrorism and Security Act, touring the UK to speak on the need for us to unite and fight! Supported Islamophobia Awareness Month, speaking all over the UK and providing guidance/resources to unions Trained Black students on police monitoring and supported initiatives like the Birmingham Police Monitoring Project Produced a Know-Your-rights pamphlet for dealing with the police on Stop & Search, at Protests and Immigration Checks Worked closely with the International Students Campaign against scapegoating of migrants by all major political parties Co-organised national protests outside the Home Office and demonstrated at UKIP Conferences Co-organised demonstrations in solidarity with Black Lives Matter campaign, from die-ins at Westfield shopping centre to shutting down a London street in protest at G4S Mobilised against fascists Le Pen at Oxford Union, EDL in the Midlands Mobilised Black students for the UFFC rally Co-convened ARAF committee and co-organised the ARAF conference Re-elect me and I will: Work alongside NUS International Students Campaign on opposing xenophobic policies from whatever government we face Host regional Islamophobia Awareness Month events and anti-ctsa campaigns Continue mobilising students across the UK to attend UFFC rally and support local family campaigns Develop regional police monitoring and stop and search workshops Malia is amazing. She has been so supportive in my year as a sabbatical officer and is always pushing to provide support for Black students everywhere. She is always at demonstrations, actively representing Black students and I know she will never stop fighting for us and putting our needs above everything. Malia has a refreshingly calming presence and was an invaluable source of support when the liberation positions at UCLU were under attack. There is no one I would trust more to lead the Black Students Campaign! Leah Francis Welfare & International Officer, UCLU If you would like this in an alternative format please do not hesitate to contact me: malia.bouattia@nus.org.uk Facebook: facebook.com/malia4bso I am proud to have the support of the National Black Students Alliance and more than 100 leading Black student activists. Check out my full supporters list online at: malia4bso.com

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